Atlanta Hawks: Hawks 103, Cavs 102

1st?

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3rd?

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teague cant shoot or defend…hawks still in need of a point guard

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Teague’s pick and roll D has gotten better. First couple of months it was abysmal. Now it is average. He still has a lot of room to improve but he doesn’t get stuck on picks nearly as much now as he used to early on.

I thought he actually did a decent job on Irving until the 4th. Late in the 3rd I checked the stats and Irving was 3/8 with 8 points (he did have 8 dimes and 6 boards at the time, so still not a bad game for him). Irving is going to be great, though.

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Great blog.

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I’m still getting lots of inquiries on Twitter about the Hawks signing one of the free agents who’ve been released. Atlanta’s roster is full, so they would have to waive a player (and eat the salary) or buy out a player (no candidates for that) to open up a spot for the new guy. Either move would add to the team’s payroll and luxury-tax bill. In other words, it’s not happening.
***

ASG said they would go into LT for right player. I have not seen this happen.

Pretty sure Hollins or Hickson are better than half the garbage on our bench

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“ASG said they would go into LT for right player. I have not seen this happen.”

GrandMaster JeJe… didn’t you hear? The Hawks are ALREADY in the luxury tax. The right player was Jerry Stackhouse.

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Good win Hawks! Got to keep pace with those Knicks!

FYI , Knicks will be in town next weekend..Its gonna be crazy!

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I wonder if he’ll give Larry the middle finger….hehehe

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Numbers arent everything…Teague didnt push the ball, made bad decisions and Irvin spun him like a top. Oh, I forgot to mention scared to shoot. Josh played hard, althought it took him 29 shots to get 30 points, but I’ve gained more respect for Josh’s game, he is smart enough to know where to get the ball to late in games.

It was a tough game for the Hawks, but there are no bodies and McGrady seems useless. JJ played 51 at Denver and made some late turnovers, I didnt read were MC cut him any slack.

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“well some coach screwed it up more than ld.”

well they say even a blind squirrel will luck out and stumble accross a nut from time to time..lol

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If tmac cant beatout scrubs like Green and stackhouse just retier after this season.

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as a pitcher in college that is exactly what my coach said to me when i doubled off the fence slimj. i really batted .500 as i was two for four, two hits in four years. it was before designated hitters. i could really lay down a sac bunt though, took a lot of pride in doing the little things to win you know?

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Fire LD

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*yawns*

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I noticed at one of the timeouts LD was nose to nose with JT screaming at him. LT makes woody look good. I think woody has become much smarter while being an assistant to Antonio.

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and since he is the 6-time all star

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Teague is getting extremely laxed playing defense. Letting his counterparts leak into the paint because a safety net like Smoove is good at defending the rim is a bad habit.

Josh will most likely be gone within two years. If a deal presents itself to improve our pg position, we shouldn’t hesitate if it involves Teague. Marvin once upon a time had decent trade value and witness what happens when you are content with mediocrity.

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Zaza did blow another lay up but the guy is playing well. Rebounding lots and scoring well. If he can fix his butter fingers he’d be a really strong C.

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Funny how no one has mentioned that it was an ISO play that produced the game winner.

Good night for me. The Hawks win, and Kyrie Irving balled his arse off for Northcyde United. God knows we may need more performances like that the rest of the week.

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northcyde
March 22nd, 2012
6:16 am:

“Funny how no one has mentioned that it was an ISO play that produced the game winner.”

Yes northcyde, but all the other money shots JJ had down stretch were CATCH AND SHOOT.

There nothing wrong with JJ going ISO here and there if he has made defenses pay dearly on catch and shoot situations previously.

The problem is that, like in Woody’s days, LD has been going ISO-Joe almost exclusively to close games and “control leads” and that makes it predictable and easy to defend AND takes the fire out of the rest of the guys (most notably Josh).

When JJ gets it going on catch and shoot, defenses forcefully have to act differently trying to keep close to all Hawks players on offense since baskets come out of ball rotation and you can’t leave anyone open because once the ball goes to the open man, defenses start to rotate and the probability that a switch, a pick or simply a crisp sequence of passes leaves JJ alone for a “3 point lay up” increase dramatically.

That simply does not happen when everyone makes clear out after clear out for JJ to try and beat faster opponents as if he was still 25 years old, in particular after a 35 minute outing on tired legs and on a tendinitis’ afflicted knee.

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northcyde i hope you were referring to the basketball god there. heh heh

jj is and has been a sf for a long time dating back to the woody years when he was put alongside first bibby and flip then bibby and jc. this is not a novelty and the move should have been recognized and made a long time ago, before they paid marvin 7-8 mil a year to do 3-4 mil workload even before the injuries. myopic sund/basg moves cost us plenty.

iso jj should be the exception rather than the rule when it favors jj in match ups o/w business as usual, play it into josh preferably and feed it back as he is clearly the more decisive player on the court not teague or jj when it comes to directing the offense. jj should spend less time with the ball and only if he is gong to abuse a mis-match which he should have done recently at the end of a game rather than pass it out and then take it back to a corner fall away when he had a match up in his favor.

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teague is not the problem with this team, unless it is not being encouraged enough to be more aggressive and to put up bigger numbers when things get slack, folks start coasting or just plain stagnant with no ball movement or taking a string of long shots from the outside instead of movement towards the basket. he should be encouraged to take risks and develop more passing under the basket as drop offs to team mates. he does seem lost at times and it seems to be more a product of confusion as to expectations. this comes about in a negative environment and what you get from negativity in general; diminished energy and no movement at all. it is like the shocked rat in cage that cant get out. that is pure basic behavioral psych 101.

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If LD was more secure, he would actually coach other players instead of always whipping on Teague.
Hey LD, there are bone headed plays all over the court, be a coach to Josh, Joe and others.

Have you ever said, “Hey Joe, don’t bounce the ball around for 23 seconds and then pass to Josh”?

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Hawks never play defense. Its like AND1 games every game. All offense and no defense.

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My lineup would be Joe at PG,Hinrich at SG,W.Green at SF,Josh at PF, and Pachulia at C.

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Drew said : “We offered no defensive resistance. They scored at will.”

The synopsis of the whole season, especially against the 76ers,Heat,Lakers,Blazers,Thunder,and Bulls.

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“Drew said : “We offered no defensive resistance. They scored at will.”

Yea and if you believe when ALL NBA returns that his “all pro” defensive presence will change the way this team has been defending especailly up the soft middle then your in what doctors call a state of delirium…hahaha

snap out of it my dear watson!

Hire Woody! Pronto!

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Tmac has lost his confidence. He looked alot more confident earlier in the season. once he reinjured his knee, he hasnt looked the same. Drews continues bad managing of tmac hasnt helped either. Tmac has alot more to offer but the guy has no confidence and looks like he cant wait till the season over so he can bolt.

He will play alot better next season on a team that will give him a chance

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btw can Harry Hawk get credited with a steal.

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I can agree that TMac may not be in the games from the bench, but there are times on the court he looks out of touch as well.
I like TMac overall, but I would expect to see more out of him. You could almost say that Stack is going to get his minutes going forward.
LD and TMac and LD and JT are oil and water. He has his whipping boys and its obvious.

Anybody else notice that it doesn’t really look like Marvin is struggling from the bench? He actually seems to be enjoying his front row seat.

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Good to see Joe make several clutch shots. That should silence his critics for about 10 minutes.

One of my takeaways from this game is that Jamison is not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Now, it is hards to nit-pick at an undersized old man who can still go out and produce 20/10 nights against better defensive teams, but he made more than a few boneheaded plays that caught my attention.

Kyrie Irving may not make the Cavs fans forget about LeBron, but he sure will wipe away their tears. Cavs should use the Bulls as a model when building their roster around the incredibly talented PG.

I wonder if Josh believes folk criticize him for missing long jumpers or for taking long jumpers?

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“does this mean that Joe Johnson will get his jersey retired in atl”

You could make the case that if he were traded today he deserves to get his jersey retired. He’s a 5 time All Star on nearly every top-10 franchise list and has taken this team to 6 games in the 2nd round, where Nique took it to 7 games in the 2nd round.

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@Astro Joe

he knows its for taking long shots but he is overly confident in his ability to make them so he says to himself “I don’t care if they boo I KNOW I can make this shot”

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“Also, that last shot by Irving met strong opposition by Teague forcing him to try a very high banking angle that did not drop.”

It wasn’t even just that one. He hit a couple of shots in the first quarter, when he scored 7 points, that Teague defended really well. There was one shot in particular that he banked in from a nearly impossible angle where Teague was right up in his grill. I didn’t think Teague’s D was that bad at all.

Also, completely agree that Irving > Wall. Wall is more athletic but Irving is a much better basketball player.

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that completes the sweep of the Cavs

now chances to sweep the Nets and Wiz

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“Well next week, will put them squarely behind the 8ball…
UTA, MIL, NYK, PHI, CHI – Bobkittins twice…
DET, BOS, ORL, LAC, BOS, TOR, DAL – unless significant change…

it could get real ugly real quick…go 4-8…
…while NYK, MIL roll off 7-8 in a row…”

Agreed! And this team looks beat. It may get real ugly real fast! .. I belived the hype about an easier schedule too untill I looked closer at it starting next week..

4-8 would be a disaster in this next stretch of 12 games…

The Knicks surge is not fluke as some have surmized…They really are a talented group of basketball players! The Hawks want no part of em as they will see next Friday night at Home!

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The Hawks jumped 2 spots in Hollinger’s power rankings from #11 to #9 when they lost to Boston, and drop from #9 to #10 after beating Cleveland. Hmm.

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42-24 is a real possibility unfortunatley so is 33-33

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Irving’s Magic!

Yeah cohorts, Kyrie Irving is quite special. Congrat’s to Dan Gilbert for taking Kyrie @#1 over Kemba Walker. Kyrie, definitely has my vote for ROY. Hats off to Byron Scott too for teaching a kid who never really played in college, but has tremendous upside.

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“Funny how no one has mentioned that it was an ISO play that produced the game winner.”

As Najeh stated, the difference with this iso was that Joe actually drove the ball and took advantage of a smaller defender as opposed to what he normally does, tricky dribble jump shot.

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I watched the replay and I got it wrong — Teague set the screen for Joe on the game winner, not Josh. Either way, Joe had a ton of space coming off the screen (much more than usual) because the Cavs defended it poorly (they didn’t switch the screen like every other team does), and Joe did the right thing and drove it toward the basket. That rarely if ever happens on those 1-2 screens at the end of games.

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slimj, i count 14 games from your list not 12. 5-9 or 4-10 which is the disaster?

yeah but you dont have to ask al to work on putting the ball softly on glass to make a lay-up do you?dude we could use al for certain but continue on in delerium.

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@ASG PLEASE SALE THIS TEAM…U SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT UR NOT DOING WHATS BEST FOR THE TEAM OR PLAYERS….WHAT SITUATION HAS TO HAPPEN FOR THE LEAGUE TO TAKE CONTROL OF THE HAWKS…..THIS NIGHTMARE HAS TO END…SALE SALE SALE…MY FRIEND SAYS HE HASS $100.39 CENTS…..PLEASE ACCEPT PAYMENT ASAP

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agree najeh, said it that they are a perfect team for woody. no pattern offense needed and a great defensive center in the middle that loves to do just that. he doesnt require many touches as a center and is a team first guy. that may be the dallas sleeper to win it all but doubt melo or amare can deliver over that long a period and keep it together to make the full run.

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starting next week: UTA, MIL, NYK, PHI, CHI –
DET, BOS, ORL, LAC, BOS, TOR, DAL=12

The conversation was a quote about next week
didnt count the two this week on purpose…Cool doc..

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“The Knicks are 10 times better than the Hawks, and I can promise you Chicago, or Miami don’t want that problem in the first round. The Knicks would destroy Orlando in a playoff series also, because as we all know, Woody might not have to double Dwight because he actually has a center (Chandler), who can guard him straight up. The Knicks team suits Woody perfectly, two great iso players, a gunner of the bench, and a couple of point guards who can knock down open jumpers. He will improve the defense, as they were already a pretty good offensive team. Would not surprise me to see them in the ECF.”

SAY IT ROD!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PREACH IT ROD FROM COLLEGE PARK!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ECF?????? hehehehehehehe

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Knicks have too many weapons and I don’t want to be no where near Phillips arena for that nonsense with all those “I’m from NY” Knicks fans. If you love NY so much, why are you in ATL? Yo broke arse couldn’t afford NY.

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I heard LD on a radio interview this morning. One of the hosts asked about the Knicks interim head coach. LD talked about the team but never mentioned Woody by name. That will be a fun dynamic to watch, their interaction (or non-interaction). Good road win for the Knicks last night in Philly. I’m glad that the articles about Lin’s future have given way to articles about the team’s success.

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No one person plays pick and roll d, a team does and the Hawks scheme sucks.

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“The Knicks would destroy Orlando in a playoff series also, because as we all know, Woody might not have to double Dwight because he actually has a center (Chandler), who can guard him straight up.” Rod

Are you talking about the Same Woodson… WHO DID DOUBLE DWIGHT, which allowed them to destroy the Hawks in the second round? You know… the year he got fired. LD was the coach who let Zaza, Al, Collins play him one on one. That’s why the Hawks own Orlando now.

Hope Woody learned his lesson. lol

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“The only reason I would go to the Hawks vs Knicks game is to holla at all the groupies that would be in the building.” Clyde

That’s the only reason why I go do ANYTHING. I got mad love for the groupies.

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Big Lou

March 22nd, 2012
11:56 am

“Woody’s Revenge!” drmaryb

“Sounds like a porno”

LMBO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Big Lou got Jokes!

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I get this sense that Woody and Larry are not fond of each other? What did Woody think Larry stabbed him the back or something to that affect?

Will Woody throw him the finger?

Naw he’ll probably leave in the starters and try to bury the Hawks by 40? Yup….

Oh the Humanity!

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MATT MELT RYAN IS 17th in yards per throw..Yep he’s average…with a throwback game…

The streak will continue……0 playoff wins……………………Yawn…………………

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Slimjr,

From what I heard, LD backdoored Woody. LD basically went to management and told them that he would be willing to coach the team for much less than what they would have to pay Woodson. Perfect situation for the cost cutting ASG, who refuse to spend money on a coach. That is why he is still the lowest paid head coach in the league. Woody is only interim. He may have been justified in his actions, because if I remember correctly, Drew was trying to leave, and had another job offer, and Woodson blocked him. I don’t think that they are too fond of each other.

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SteveW

“We do it constantly with the Falcons and Matt Ryan. Everybody knew Ryan was a decent QB, but not elite. He was in the same discussion as Flacco and Henne. But he was the most NFL ready. He was a #3 pick, not a 1 or 2. It’s not like anybody expected him to be dominate. He’s an above average NFL QB, good enough to win, but not elite.”

Nobody predicted that Mattie Ice would not be able to throw the ball over 15 yards. Nobody said that he would be a sitting duck in the pocket, and look like a deer in headlights when pressured. He is slowly becoming Marvin Williams like. Hope he is really in the gym strengthening his arm this offseason, so that the Julio Jones pick does not become a wasted pick. If your quarterback can’t throw downfield, 4.2 40 speed is useless.

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I agree with Dawg, Doc and others who allude that Teague is the whipping boy of the team. He is the youngest, least experienced on the team so he has become the lightning rod for Drew to scapegoat, punk out and yell at. It begs to question; would Drew do Drew II like he do Teague? Or would he support him like this:

Drew: “I told him, ‘Big fella, I’m going to continue to come to you and I have all the confidence in the world in you. You’ve blundered a couple but it doesn’t change the way I feel about you.”

Such an understanding, compassionate and biased coach. Had LD gotten into Zaza’s grill after the Denver loss and held him accountable for his butter fingers, maybe he would have jammed that ball last night.

Joe finally did what he is paid well to do. Time will tell if this translates into clutch shots against playoff competition. Josh Smith had a great game in the paint and his lunch pail on the court – he must step up big like this against our eastern rivals every game, whether that is Garnett, Bosh or Boozer.

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Northcyde,

In addition to what najeh pointed out, Iso-JJ worked against the Cleveland Cavaliers, who rank 25th in points allowed, and Byron Scott who coached like a rookie. What do you want us to say?

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Rod, a major problem I see with Ryan and unfortunately this cant be taught is his pocket awareness..He holds onto the ball to long and he’s very hesitant to step up in the pocket like Eli will do in a NewYork minute to get his ball down field with zip.

Ryan moves backwards and throws off his back foot therefore decreasing accuracy and velocity on the ball…He ends up putting to much air under them…

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“Everybody knew Ryan was a decent QB, but not elite. He was in the same discussion as Flacco and Henne.”

This isn’t quite true. Mel Kiper said Ryan was the best QB prospect he had ever scouted (that was the exact point that I stopped listening to anything Mel Kiper said). There were a lot of people chewing out the Dolphins for picking Jake Long #1 instead of Ryan. Really until about two months ago the consensus among most NFL writers was that Ryan is already elite, even though the numbers and production clearly stated otherwise. The hype has always been there for him. It’s just the production that has never matched it.

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Congrats to LD and the Hawks. LD is making lemonade out of lemons! I know he is a rough around the edges, but it’s his second year. Look @ what he is working with this season! Several games missed by 3 starters (Al, Joe, Marvin) along with reserves (Collins, McGrady, Green); which causes LD to construct a different lineup each game. I am not a total fan of LD, but I must give him CREDIT!!!

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Is Joe more of a clutch player than Lebron?

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High-sider

March 21st, 2012
11:56 pm

“Both teams played hard. Both teams played hard. Both teams played hard. Both teams played hard. Both teams played hard. God bless. Goodnight.” – Rasheed Wallace

I told y’all both teams played hard!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrOH-KHxXg0

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@Steve W your exactly right

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Ive always said we should run ISO plays with periodically with Teague throughout the game especially when he is hot or when we have lapses with offensive execution! He’s really the only hawk that game is really built around driving to the basket!

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Woody loves Atlanta and he is still fond of the players on this team… He wishes them well! And when he was out of a job!!! Sincerely, he wanted them to do well because he had a long history with these guys/ and this organization… Remember he got Josh when he was 18!!!

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Ra’mon,

And that’s why it made no sense to me when they brought in Rick Sund, What had he done in all his years of being a GM? Bring in one of the assistants from one of the winning franchises.

But I cant help but wonder if the only reason they brought in Rick is because he has no problem being ASG’s puppet.

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northcyde

Someone may have already mentioned it;
-but-
it was *not* an Iso play that got Joe open for the game winner.

Joe received a ball screen, and for once, came off tight
and went hard to the basket;
initiated contact – no call – and shot the pull back jumper.

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I know this is a Hawks blog – but I just don’t think Ryan has much upside left. I think he’ll be at this level, or maybe slightly above for the next 5-8 years barring injury. The reason he can’t rise to the occasion in the playoffs in my opinion is because he’s already playing his max game most of the time in the regular season. There is no gear up for him, unlike Eli, Big Ben and those guys.

Cam on the other hand is a stud, and I could never figure out those guys saying he would be a 2nd round pick and stuff. I just watch football, and am not into it as I am BB, but Cam sure looked like he had all the tools playing at Auburn.

And these two guys coming out this season, Griffin and Luck, look really good also. I think there are some nice young QB’s coming into the League.

And Julio Jones looks like a major stud WR to me. If he had AJ Greens hands, you’d be looking at one of the all time greats. But he’s going to be very good for a long time – maybe Pro Bowl good. Maybe HOF good. He’s a good player.

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Lord Jesus, the Matt Ryan haters yapping their traps again.

Guy just had a 4000+ yard/25+ TD season with a crappy o-line. He’s in his fifth year for God’s sakes. Not every QB is a Tom Brady/Aaron Rodgers(technically in the league for 7 years until he won). Most QB takes years to win a Superbowl. Brees, Peyton Manning, Brett Farve… just to name the ones off the top of my head, are examples of this. They weren’t outstanding when they first came into the league. Jesus, give the kid a break. I’m not saying he’s the best thing since thongs(on fit female bodies only), but he can still improve on his game from where he’s at. Give him a chance. Dude has a better win record than most of the QBs in the league–easily top ten in ability, IMO.

Shoot, even the fabulous Vick is still improving his game to this day and is a heck of a lot better than when he played in ATL. I hope that dude gets a Superbowl before he retires, too. I miss that blur of awesomeness.

And, Najeh, please don’t bring Cam Newton into this discussion as being better like you did last time. It just shows you lack of objectivity during the Matt Ryan debate.

Moving on…

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He looks skiddish in the pocket, never calm in there like Eli..

Does not seem to sense where the pressure is coming from till its too late..

His arm is not accurate by a long shot on the short or long ball

The velocity is bout a 20mph slower than the elites..Cant throw into a 1 foot box but on occasion..

Not mobile.. He’s got that All NBA throw back game

A 27th ranked defense sent him home to mommy! Absolute debacle of the 1st order!!!!!!

..Sorry Grasshopper, Ice aint “the one”!

The only SB he’s going to is with a clip board….

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Grandad

March 22nd, 2012
2:48 pm

rollow lawson

‘`Is Joe more of a clutch player than Lebron?`’

“Has Joe ever been to the Finals without paying ?”

GRANDAD with the BOG of the DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LMBO!!!!!

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DAM: Rod from College Park with another vicious one handed windmill in traffic!

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“Matty Ice gets sacked most of the time because he has zero pocket presence, never steps up in the pocket, and has not developed the skill to move around in the pocket like Brady, and Eli do.” Rod

Kinda hard to step in the pocket, when the pocket collapses in 2.5 seconds. Watch the replays from last year and you’ll see why he ran outside some plays.

Imagine if Vick had all those weapons when he was here. We might have a superbowl right now.”

He has better weapons in PHI and hasn’t won one yet because he keeps getting injured. I believe her has the talent, though. Also, I do think he has better accuracy and arm strength. Yet, he’s not the QB for ATL anymore. Living in the past is for the high school QB that never got over his popularity decline once he worked at McDonalds. Our QB is Matt Ryan. He’s not the flashiest or most physical, but he is good at reading defenses and has potential. I’m giving him until the end of this season to write him off.

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Josh and some people around him think he takes too much flak from hometown fans. I don’t think that’s always true but it would be in this case if the focus is on his missed Js after had had nearly half his team’s rebounds, more than half of its free throws and played 51 minutes. “I’m tired as a mother[bleeper],” he offered before hitting the showers.

***************

When people get on Josh, he usually deserves it. And the people around Josh better understand that when you want to “be the man”, blame usually comes your way. If you want to be praised for great play, you have to be blamed for bad play.

The difference in last nights game is that although Josh STILL went `1 – 8 FG on his jumpers, the vast majority of his shots were in the paint ( 9 – 21 FG ). THAT’S how we need him to play. In essence, he had an Allen Iverson-esque game, in which he shot poorly from the field, but stayed in attack mode so much that he got to the FT line numerous times. And some of his misses around the rim, he was just unfortunate the shot didn’t go in.

The fans WILL give a pass on games like that. Not on garbage games like he played vs Boston.

Bad: Josh needed a whopping 29 shots to score 32 points

Good: He relentlessly crashed the boards, despite having virtually no help from other people, and stayed aggressive enough to get to the FT line . . and he made 86% of his FTs, including the HUGE one in OT.

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Drew: “I told him, ‘Big fella, I’m going to continue to come to you and I have all the confidence in the world in you. You’ve blundered a couple but it doesn’t change the way I feel about you.”

LD and Zaza bromance? Ain’t that cute.

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A Troll? Huh? Hey Lou we dont use that verbage on this blog. That’s reserved for those delusional football fans on that DX3 Blog…… hehehehe

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rod you are rewriting history

first bk held ld back from a lateral move on a contract. where it got sticky wss after woody was gone then had to judtify verbally to his interviewer and the media why he was different after six years og being here. well ld said essentially what the plugged in fan said, woody lost he team, coildnt make moves during games that affectd oitcomes and relied too much on iso’s as a foundation for his offense. my take is when it really became personal when he obviuosly had to kustify his pick and say woody didnt listen to him. it is kinda what happens in business too when outsiders arent brought in.

ld didnt get woody fired he got himself fired and if he holds ld responsible then he is delusional. just the same i hope he is successful against all but the hawks but before lin and smith i thought this team was formidable to all teams and they only got stronger. they could carry the ecf finals if anyone falters or has injuries.

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If JJ would’ve missed that shot at the end, everybody would’ve been screaming why we went ISO JJ.

The fact is that most people on this blog DON’T want the ball in JJ’s hands at the end of games off the dribble. The Hawks have done that pick and roll involving JJ and Teague plenty of times. Some successful. Others not successful.

My point is that it really doesn’t matter to me HOW he gets the ball or how he gets the shot off. He simply needs to be the one at least getting a touch of the ball at the end of games.

Period.

And with JJ playing SF, it does give him a chance to work off the ball a little more, with two combo guards manning the guard spots. Both Teague and Hinrich do have the ability to run PG and make the right pass ( even if they aren’t great at it ). And both are decent ball handlers. So that enables JJ to work off the ball for more catch and shoot situations.

As for Marvin, bringing him off the bench is fine . . just give him 25 minutes a game to work.80% at SF, 20% at PF. Bench Vlad forever. Give Ivan the rest of the backup PF and spot minutes at C.

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I am more of an eyeball guy..You can do anything with stats.

Ryan put up 4000 yards and??????????????????

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Slimjr

Hey. I loved Mike Vick(pause) when was in ATL and I still do. Yet, I understand football is a business and the organization had to move on. I felt a lot of people were butthurt about the dog fighting situation and said horrible things, but I refused to be on their level. I decided to support whatever QB the Falcons brought in. That QB is Matt Ryan. He’s brought consistent success to the city since he’s been here. Do I feel he’s better than Vick? In some ways, yes. In some ways, no.

Vick admitted that he didn’t give his all in ATL, and I wish he did. He would have had multiple Super Bowls if he kept his nose clean. It didn’t happen, though. So I wish him good health and hope he gets a SB trophy–just not against the Falcons.

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I hear you Big Lou..

My favorite Falcon QB was Chris Chandler! He had the most beautiful deep ball I may have ever seen. Just could not stay healthy..

Yes MV7 and Ryan both have their strengths and weakness..

What would be awesome is if both teams end up in an NFC title game but unlike 2004 the Falcons win it this time..Kinda like getting their revenge..

I’ll give Arthur credit, he is trying like crazy to get there….

Imagine Arthur taking control of the Hawks? Shoot two or three Championships in the next 10 years maybe attainable? LOL!

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doc,

“ld didnt get woody fired he got himself fired and if he holds ld responsible then he is delusional. just the same i hope he is successful against all but the hawks but before lin and smith i thought this team was formidable to all teams and they only got stronger. they could carry the ecf finals if anyone falters or has injuries.”

Never said LD got Woody fired, I said he backdoored him. I’ve heard this info from some pretty reliable sources. Woody and LD were good friends, and now they barely mention each others name. I’m pretty sure that there is a reason for that. I do also know that woody did block LD from leaving his staff. I can’t remember whether the move was lateral or not, but I do remember that happening.

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Hey Rod was this next dunk with the left hand or right? lol

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Next Friday will be a statement game!

The Hawks 12 better all bring their A game!

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Two hand windmill. LOL

Not really comparing Vick and Ice, because I agree Vick is not here anymore. But, Ice leaves a lot to be desired. Vick not giving his all when he was here was still better than Ice. Ice is Chad Pennington. Checkdown Charlie.

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Exactly a month ago tonight the Hawk lost to the Knicks 99-82. It seem like they lost by 30?

I hope this game next week is not Nationally televised? Haven’t look it up…

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Even Golden State warriors claim JJ Hickson off of waivers b/c he’s has a very resonable contract and alots of ability. While the Hawks signed these old vets so the league can pick up part of the tab to pay them as they try to sell their fans on how good a signing it is…. We have 8 guys on min vet contracts and still paying the luxury tax. That’s bad asset management and player personnel.

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Rod

Vick only won in the playoffs once. I wouldn’t say that’s much better. Be reasonable. It’s only one win. You’re just being a homer at this point.

You are delusional if you think Matt Ryan has a better line and options. I would concede that they are about even in talent, but the Eagles has a WAY better line. Their running back is one of the best in the league and has more upside then Turner. Deshaun Jackson is leagues better than Roddy if he gets his head right. Also, the Eagles Tight end is money. Also, Matt has only had Julio for one year… during a lockout… without time to work with him. Go by his performance this year. I agree that the defense of the Eagles is worse, though.

To say Vick would have a Superbowl with out team is all speculation. The guy has a tendency to throw interceptions, get injured and fumble the ball–example vs. Falcons. Yet, we’ll have to agree to disagree, since you seem to twist anything to make your point correct.

I want Vick to succeed, but I’m not going to say Matt Ryan is mediocre because of the bitter past.

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“LD doesn’t know how to use Tracy and is too in love with Kirk Hinrich to make a change – LD talks about wanting to run more and fast break against younger teams but he forgets that the playoffs is about match-ups and who can execute the best in the half court.”

Cosign. This is why I keep telling people that we will not be able to score in the playoffs. Our half court offense is horrible. It was horrible last year, but Jamal Crawford made it look better. I love Josh, but no way he scores 20 to 30 in a playoff game. Teams will lock in on Joe, and make the rest of the team beat them. I will get ugly.

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The Hawks won. Joe came through.
I will refrain from being critical as I
thought they had blown it. I am satisfied
with the “W”.

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Teague vs. Irving…no comparison
Teague vs. Rondo…no comparison
Teague vs. Paul…no comparison
Teague vs. Deron…no comparison
Teague vs. Kidd…no comparison
Teague vs. Knight…no comparison
Teague vs. Sessions…no comparison
Teague vs. Nelson…no comparison
Teague vs. Jack…no comparison
Teague vs. Parker…no comparison
Teague vs. Nash…no comparison
Teague vs. Miller…no comparison
Teague vs. Westbrook…no comparison…
Teague vs. Calderon…no comparison
Teague vs. Lin…no comparison
Teague vs. Wall…close, both fast, cant shoot
Teague vs. Collison…Collison
Teague vs. Holiday…Holiday

Speed alone wont get it done. PG are crafty playmakers and knockdown shooters. Teague is neither. If Hawks were serious about playoff run, they wouldve added a real PG. That was the cheapest way to improve team, especially with Big Al’s return on horizon. But, alas, they are too cheap to compete.

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Big Lou

“Vick only won in the playoffs once. I wouldn’t say that’s much better. Be reasonable. It’s only one win. You’re just being a homer at this point.”

Not True, Vick beat Green Bay in Green Bay (27-7), before anybody else did, and we beat the Rams in the Georgia Dome one year (47-17). Either way, 1>0, and 2>>0 especially with much inferior talent. He won playoff games with the likes of Alge Crumpler and Peerless Price. Never said that Vick would have won a superbowl with this team, just simply stated that he never had the kind of talent that Ice has had in Atlanta.

Speculation or not, that facts are that Ice Melt has better talent offensively than Vick does. That is not debatable. Roddy White over the last two years is one of the top recievers in the game. 8th in receptions last year, 1st in receptions the year before. Desean Jackson in not at that level. Hell Julio Jones had only 4 less receptions than Desean Jackson did last year. Celek is not a better tight end than Gonzalez stat wise or any other way, and Micheal Turner has amassed 2,711 yds rushing in the last two years compared to MCcoy amassing 2,389 yds rushing in the last two years. I will agree that McCoy is more versatile, but he has not been better rushing the ball. In case you did not watch Philly last year, their line was worse than the Falcons, giving up 49 sacks and 101 QB hits to the Falcons giving up 23 sacks, and 69 QB hits. None of that is speculation, those are all facts.

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Rufus1,

We will talk after the playoffs. Records and stats really mean nothing this year. The playoffs will tell the whole story. Nobody is praising Woodson, we just recognize that he has been put in a great position to be succesful. If he falls on his face, it on him.

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Hey Rod, I think you just pulled off that 3 ball dunk that Javale Mcgee showed us in last years 2011 Dunk contest!Wow! LMBO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Rod,

I agree about the playoffs….That is where Woody made his name. If he is keeps this up and the Knicks make a run, I will apologize for all the bad things I have ever said about him.

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“Philly last year, their line was worse than the Falcons, giving up 49 sacks and 101 QB hits to the Falcons giving up 23 sacks, and 69 QB hits. None of that is speculation, those are all facts.”

With that atrocious O line its freaking amazing that Vic went 8-8 and just missed the playoffs..
Theres a stat that screams QB gonna get killed out there…

Imagine if Ryan had that same O line? 3 wins? maybe maybe not..Whew….

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I saw Melo last night pass up a wide open 3pt shot and deferred to Lin who buried it.. He seems to be willing to play more team ball..He wants to win for this coach!

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“The Knicks ain’t beating the Bulls in the 2nd round. Derrick Rose will score 40 in his sleep on that team.”

Not so sure about that Grandmaster. Chicago is very vunerable this year, especially with Rose’s injury problems. I personally think New York would simply outscore them, but we shall see.

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“Chicago is very vunerable this year, especially with Rose’s injury problems.”

Rod, does 11-4 without him sound like they are vulnerable? Or vunerable?

In just the last week, they beat MIA and PHI without Rose. They have the highest scoring differential in the league.

So where do you see they are vulnerable?

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Washington is putting a hurt on Indiana. Two points – it helps the Hawks in the standings, but also demonstrates that the Hawks had better not underestimate Washington tomorrow night.

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Being Fair,

Woody teams were always healthy…When the Hawks won 53 games, I think we lost fewest games to injury of any team….LD has held this team together and they are competing every game.

LD proved in the Magic series he was a better coach than Woody and what this team is doing(with the injuries) is further validation.

If this team was healthy, I think we are clearly the 3rd best team in the east and have a very good chance at the ECF.

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“So where do you see they are vulnerable?”

Again we are talking about the playoffs, not the regular season. They are vulnerable because the best player in their team can’t stay healthy. If you think Chicago can beat the Knicks in a 7 game series with Derrick Rose missing, or not being 100% in a couple of games, then I’ve got some swap land to sell you in Florida. Relating it to home, remember when the Braves used to have the best record in baseball, and get destroyed in the playoffs? Same concept. The Knicks are constructed to be a good playoff team. I could care less about the regular season. This year, it really is just about getting to the playoffs.

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“I’ve got some swap land to sell you in Florida.”

Sautee, we can be neighbors!

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or “truth test” you got it wrong bro. shame you have to hide behind a make up name as well instead fo coming with your real blog name. weak dude, weak.

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I dont want to beat the Knicks, I want to blow them out. I can’t stand this love affair for them and they not even a .500 ball club…. They must go down, they must go down hard….

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Doc could you imagine if hawks and Knicks meet in first round? Be like TNT… We know drama!

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“The guy better suited to sell insurance for Geico than run point for Hawks…”

Lol… Teagecko?

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buddy, i was thinking wwe maybe or the friday night fights i used to watch growing up. there is definitely bad blood between woody, ld and bk. the king junction has definitely been blowed up. heh heh

i think there is more than an outside chance of them playing each other, only the celts are hated more and that says a lot because i cant stand queenie.

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milwaukee is not very athletic and were helped by getting udoh and the mississippi terror.

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Boris Diaw has been bought-out by bobcats – can we release someone and sign him? Is that feasible for the ASG to pull off?
http://www.nba.com/2012/news/03/21/bobcats-diaw-buyout.ap/index.html

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doc,

They are trying to get away with playing Gooden (who is weak defensively) at C and they have two ushers “to the rim” on defense in the backcourt (Jennings/Ellis). We shouldn’t fear the dear at all…

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melvin, fear the deer has not been around as has philly fan been quiet. though i like gooden and would take him here in a ny minute.

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doc,

I wouldnt mind Gooden on this team but I would take him over ZaZa….

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brown became a phenomenon almost a mini celebrity for the region bringing huge numbers from near and far, pretty uncomfortable for an episcopalian woman priest. she saw through it and walked away before it tore her apart.

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“it really doesn’t matter to me HOW he gets the ball or how he gets the shot off.”

But it does matter. It matters a ton. Just like it matters whether Josh receives the ball with his back to the basket on the block or 20 feet away from the hoop facing the basket, it absolutely matters whether Joe receives the ball in a position to catch and shoot or on the 3 point line having to create his own shot with no help. It matters because he is much more efficient when he doesn’t have to create his own shot, just like Josh is more efficient on the block than he is shooting jumpers.

I don’t think most people here would have any problem with the idea that Joe should get the ball in crunch time. The problem is in giving him the ball and just standing around and hoping he can go one on five and make a shot. He’s not that good. Many players who are better than him are not good enough to where it’s a better idea to let them go one on five than to run a play to free them up for a shot.

At the end of regulation, the Hawks actually ran a play for Joe. He inbounded the ball, ran into the paint, ran off a couple of screens, and came free on the 3 point line. Catch, shoot, swish. The dude is really good. A smart team would put him in position to maximize that talent. The game winner in overtime is the exception, not the rule, when it comes to iso situations for him, in part because Cleveland defended it so poorly.

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did kamen shrink?

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“Vick only won in the playoffs once. ”

Twice, actually. Beat Favre in GB in 2002, went to the NFC Championship in 2004.

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“Separated at birth: Rick Santorum and Tim Donaghy.”

Holy sh-t you are right. I have been wondering for three months who Rick Santorum looks like. No sarcasm.

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doc,

We both know “for a few more dollars” is the issue why a guy like Gooden or any other quality bench player have not been sign by the Hawks. They need the league to pickup part of the tab. So any one who will command more than the vet min will not be in a Hawks uniform.

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doc,

Amen. As I said before, there’s no reason to pay the luxury tax when 8 of the 15 players are making the vet min. That’s bad asset/personnel management. That alone should be enough to give Sund his walking papers. This roster and payroll is a disaster.

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Jason Smith look like Bill Romanowski with the foul he committed on Blake Griffin tonight…LOL

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yeah melvin, i think al enjoyed it immensely. i wonder what prompted it? i wonder if he is also trying to get payton’s last bucks out of the bounty kitty. heh heh

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Truth be told!!! A general manager can trump all releases so you are telling me LD wanted to leave but Woody was upset and told BK not to release him? False information… Woody had nothing to do with that non- movement. Just like you have stated I have a source as well. Woody and LD were friends at the time why would Woody say no! Lateral movement… the GM from Sac would call the GM from Atlanta the GM has the LAST word regardless of what the coach says! So your reliable source is wrong Woody did not block that move… Doc, I am aware of all the players involved in the drama. Trust me Woody did not stop that movement… They were friends he would have wanted him to be close to his FAMILY!!! And to be fair if you say you think LD is a better coach okay! That could be TRUE! But to say Woody did not/ or was upset because LD wanted to leave FALSE!!! And the backdoor drama maybe you need to ask LD and Woody about that! Better yet maybe they just don’t want to talk about it… They haven’t YET!!!

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Philly has lost 11 of their last 17. How do they continue to move up in Hollinger’s non-biased computerized rankings – to #3 now?

The Hawks are a steady 10 in the rankings. Been around that for awhile now.

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being fair, that was my point exactly and why i questioned rod for his rewriting what happened as reported. i do think maybe that ld and his relationship is strained with woody but that happened if it did at all based on what was said after he got the job. i didnt think that woody blocked it and never said so. rod has the back door stuff not me. no i dont think ld is better than woody overall but would have preferred a coach not in on the job training than to fire woody and go to a cheaper alternative in woody’s likeness. the only “back door” i see is getting a woody look alike in a cheaper fur coat.

my take is woody felt very betrayed by this organization and made it known during the year failing to see what he was to be measured on the playoffs not 53 wins. woody has his chance now to do well with his best roster ever so no excuses, as ld might say. i think i dont really know how ld and woody feel about each other but i imagine that woody and bk are not on quick dials and maybe have not spoken to each other in ages.;-)

thanks for your input on this and taking the time to do it.

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ESPN has an interesting article on Vinny Del Negro losing the Clips. I wish I had time to cut and paste, but the computer is acting up.

Basically, the Clips don’t know who’s going to play what minutes per nite. Guys go from 35 mpg, to 0, like Randy Foye. Others play 6, 14, 7, 18, 33, 6 kinda things.

And Vinny only yells at the younger players – Blake and Paul are off limits. They said good coaches yell at the players that need yelling at, nobody’s off limits.

Reading the article on ESPN sounded alot like the Hawks…

The Clips, currently the 5th seed, are only 2 games out of 9th place, so they could feasibly miss the playoffs. A team with those weapons missing the playoffs?? Wow.

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If Woody can’t win with Lin/Douglas/Bibby/Davis at PG
Landry/Shumpert/JR at SG
‘Melo – SF
Amare – PF
Chandler – C

Something is way bad wrong. I think injuries are the only thing that derails them from being a tough out in the playoffs.

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Tomorrow may not be a bad nite to start:

Damp/Collins at C
Ivan/Marvin at PF
TMac/Stack at SF
Green/Hinrich at G, with maybe some Stack relief, and 10 minutes of Teague. I forgot Pargo’s still out.

Rest some of these other dudes – these guys have been workhorses. Josh, JJ, ZaZa – they deserve a break.

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bf never insinuated you as a hater at all. as a 55 yr loser as a fan with the hawks maybe we can coax them into the finals.

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rod he did not do it until woody was gone or how do you know it? ld was the last one interviewed or were all those other interviews a hoax or ruse? come on man, you are playing word games here and backing up. if back dooring got woody fired then ld got him fired. if he didnt get him fired he wasnt back dooring him dude. what is your line of reason? he either got him fired by back dooring him which i dont think is true or got him fired by back dooring him which you say is true. you cant say he back doored him to get him fired on salary then say he didnt get him fired. geez.

woody was fired before the team left the floor after the fourth 25 point thrashing by the magic before ld got a chance to ever offer his services for one dollar or i mil man. that was a done deal and woody was hanged by a team that quit on him. i might add ld got his job just like woody got his knicks job because sadly melo admitted he quit on dantoni. to whit woody replied that is why they are where they are battling for the playoffs rather than positioning for home court. woody didnt get dantoni fired anymore than ld got woody fired. problem is in the acrimony present in their relationship is ld talked to the press about how he was going to be better than woody and wouldnt make the same mistakes in my humble opinion.

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vlad paled real well against the bucks mean he got whiter to help win rev?

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FALSE again ROD… Not talking about the job and being qualified WOODY wanted LD to have the job/ that is why he was his first assistant. Definition of a first assistant! “Man if I get my butt canned you are my right hand man and I want you to have the first crack at the job and if you do I will be soooooooo happy. News Flash: that is the reason Brian Shaw sat so long with PHil jackson becasue Phil WANTED Shaw to be in a position to get the LAKER job… LD and Woody’s fractured relationship has nothing to do with LD being the Hawks coach… Backdooring, again you would have to ask LD and Woody that!!! P.S How do you define backdooring?

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I will give the Hawks some credit. Being so injury-prone this year and they still are in reasonable reach for the 3rd seed. Philly is losing some now (wonder if that’s why we haven’t seen the misspelling Sixers fan on here lately) and Indiana has dropped some games also (won tonight though). If the Hawks can win some more games and Orlando loses a few, we will be in better position for the 3rd seed.

When Woodson was here, he did not have to deal with this many injuries to key players.

I will also say this, Jamal was a very good role player and bench player (especially when used correctly), but when he struggled, we did not have the depth off the bench to survive if others like Joe, Josh, and Al were off. Jamal was a good player and I would love to have him on this current Hawks team.

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doc,

Not backing up at all. I know people who know Woody very well. Maybe since you go to every game, you can ask Woody why he and Drew barely speak anymore, and he can explain the chain of events for you.

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rid, i can explain their relationship by ld back stabbing him in the press and saying he was a lousy coach and would do better and hold people accountable along with design a great offense to take advantage of the players strengths. rod, essentially ld trashed woody in every way when he got the job. that is it and all it. if woody thinks ld worked behind his back to get him fired fine only team performance did him in. the acrimony in it had to do with ld saying he was a better coach. remember he also said woody didnt listen to him, but all this was his way of getting the job and separating himself from woody after woody was let go.

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Grandad,

You are on the right track.

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no rod, reread what i have said or can we say the same about woody since he inherited a job when someone he worked for was fired, fired two fellow assistants midseason and hire two cronies on. dont play your cat and mouse game rod, answer the question so you can be seen as either consistent or not.

it is a tough world and if woody is angry ld took a head coach job after he was let go then i think less of him, if woody is pissed because of the lack of class ld had and how he denigrated his name, he has a beef. otherwise, woody needed to hit the street with dantoni to show his allegiance to him and come home to his children instead of support them and make a few more bucks before he dies.

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so woody is a hypocrite rod for taking the job as ld did?

come on rod answer the question.

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More than likely this is not doc that I’m talking to. Not enough misspelled words. Good job TS. I’m out.

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well tell me exactly the truth as you know it how ld took woody’s job or is it just he is a bad guy for applying for it at all? is that the rub there? shame on woody for damning like that and holding someone back.

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The Reason to Watch!

“saddened as a true and brave pioneer dies with furman in the same week. who says sports is irrelevant. it is the only real reality show going, everything else is fabrication including politics. nothing else grabs the essence of the moment as sports does and human spirit as well. that is why i love it always and until i am dead and buried.” -doc-
_______________

This is the exact reason I only watch sports on the tube. That and MSNBC. I only watch things that really happened. Which brings me to:

Tim Donoaghy! I’ve racled my brains all season trying to remember this guy’s name. What a tool he was, he tried to single handedly ruin our game with talk of “rigging” the outcomes with bad referees. We conspiracy theorists don’t need much prodding. Does he look like Santorum? Uggh yes he does!

Was that Sautee or Rev from Tampa who dropped that dime? Fine observation. Those are two scary guys, rick and tommy.

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Melvin,

We have 8 guys on min vet contracts and still paying the luxury tax.

And one guy on a non-lottery pick rookie contract. Terrible asset management.

doc,

Does the Lady Jackets have a chance against Baylor?

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check that the 30th!

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ob dont really follow women’s college bball, barely follow mens nowadays.

buddy those same questions could be asked of woody right now or any assistant coach anywhere. most are not there to be assistant coaches for the rest of their lives and i imagine they are all going to make themselves available to a job when one opens up if qualified. that was my point.

there is nothing to suggest ld was intentionally working behind the scenes to get the job anymore than he was trying to undermine woody as that would only make his own job more insecure but most assistants are going to want to make themselves to be in the best light to their own head coach or gm at all times and especially if given the opportunity to get the job when a position opens up.why pretend otherwise?

ld was passed over internally by the basg years before woody was canned and afer his own desire to leave the organization after he was offered a lateral move to the kings to be closer to family. probably woody should have helped him leave if he thpught ld was insincere, if not he was insevure in himself to hold onto ld or thought highly of him to keep someone asking to leav. that in itself doesnt fit if woody suspected him of disloyalty, right?

most of us knew it before ld went into interview of how bk had worked behind woody’s back to fire him. i imagine woody knew it, too. did they ever say that ld shouldnt take the job it offered? nor his “sources” if that is the game he is now suggesting once called on his shakesperean conspiracy palace over throw theory. we dont know and i imagine rod doesnt either though he hides behind that reflection, wont say it and only shadily make it a notion. if it is is true by his sources then lay it out there and say it.

honestly, i dont think that is the way it went down with subterfuge though it would make a good story for you as it did shakespeare in his time. i even dont think that once fired woody should have held ld to it nor needed ld to call him up to ask him if it was ok to interview, again this is a big boy world and childish grade school loyalties and blood pacts are beyond the scope here.

by all accounts ld was a dark horse and an afterthought in the process but again i will comment to me it looked classless for him to have denigrated woody as he did to the public once he got the job. we also know ld will say things out loud that some coaches wont and do more coach speak rather than be candid. finally, the criticisms or ld observations thought very pointed and not very complimentary were EXACTLY what the public knew on its own and ld was merely stating them out loud and voicing our own criticisms as well. for that i imagine it would be enough of a deal breaker between to old buds. i hope that is more the rub than the other frank pettiness suggested because again, if woody is pissed ld took his former job ONCE VACATED then that is how many top managers throughout sports and business do it, i am sad for woody. it is called rising to the top woody just as you have in the big apple.

now, i can only hope woody gets to keep the job but will remind him his destiny is to be fired as most head coaches find that to be true, even the best of them. i just wish we had sought to bring here rather than the cheapest, my main gripe in all this other than seeing truth or certainly reason be told.

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yes o’b, del negro was the fly in the ointment when the paul trade went down as i saw it then. they needed an immediate upgrade as he was way over his head. no way did he have it to put them over the top.

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i put it there were certain things that struck me as having no grace or being classless in his comments about woody. bt hey these are guys who made their way in a very competitive sport off tough playgrounds and are bon to win by whatever means possible. this aint sunday school. it is the american christian capitalistic way. yup i still dont know how chritianity and capitalism got hooked and linked together but they did.

the moral of this is woody better grow up from how mean and ugly little ole larry was to him if it did indeed go down that way or be slaughtered by isiah and dolans along with new york media. he like lin will be part of a slump then the real woody comes out.

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I hope Woody does well in NYC. And right now, his team is winning (5-0 since he took over), Baron Davis is injured, and Lin is playing well.

But the challenge will be how Woody and the Knicks respond when adversity hits. What happens when they go on a losing streak, or Lin is struggling big time? The media loves the Knicks right now, but they will come down hard on you very quickly too.

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wonder if the new assistants had to do the blood pact thing with woody that ld had signed up for by rod’s “close friends to the scene’” has accounted for. silly notion among big grown men, sorry. woody has much greater challenges now. there are wharf rats in nyc going for all the cheese, not mice nibbling on cheese in leisure suits, eh dmb?

btw, sorry rod for the typos, turible turible typists, sautee even has it all over me, i am sure.

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Dmb,

Woody was also booted because this team had been embarrassed by the Orlando Magic in the second round, being swept by the highest average margin of defeat in NBA history (~25ppg). And we were also swept by the year before.

It’s not all his fault (the players struggled big time), but after 2 consecutive sweeps in the second round (one of them in record fashion), it appeared the team had peaked with Woody, so a change had to be made, especially when it appears the team was tuning him out.

Plus his contract was up, so they didn’t have to fire him. They chose not to re-sign him.

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they^^^

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doc,

Whatever meds your on, you need to slow down. We don’t want another Whitney Houston situation. LOL. I’m going to tell you what to do. Go to the Hawks vs. Knicks game, get there early, watch warmups and shoot around, and wait to see if you see Woody, and LD chopping it up like 30 year friends should. Then you can make your own judgements. 24 hours later and you are still puttin words in my mouth, and coming up with scenario’s in you mind. SMH

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Woody was let go because ownership wanted them to lose better. Had they actually wanted them to advance past the 2nd round, they would not have hired one of the lowest paid coaches in the league.

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doc, I’m not sure about “many”. Don Nelson (I assume tha is the Dalls situation you referenced) had Avery coach some games for him. He was grooming the younger Lil General for the gig. Woody didn’t retire, he was essentially told that the team needed a new voice… so an old voice went in there and got the job.

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Huge loss for the Hawks..

It is a TRAP!

4-10 next 14 would put a fork in Larry Leisure Suits squad…

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By numbers alone, Larry was a better NBA player then his teammate Woody but between the
loyalty piece it may have rubbed Woody the wrong way big time as Grandad was eluding too last night. There was some baggage being that they were good friends for over 30 years? What I don’t get is Larry disparaging his close friend’s job performance to the Media!? That alone motivates me to cheer for Woody to crush Larry by 30!

Larry Drew that’s a real class act(wrong)..What a piece of work you are?

Woody has his hands full now! Oh boy! Get ready for some Drama next Friday..

Hopefully the Hawks will be healed up..This will be like a playoff game and will have ramifications next month for sure….

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Check that, Ivan is gone too? Wow….

Oh well go small ball..Put Josh in the middle and have Collins back him up

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slimj as i said that was a piece that left me with my mough open saying i cant believe he is saying this even though it was absolutely true and what all of us had said for years. it is what rubs aj’s ass a bit when he gets worked up and starts his thang on the accountability of players issue. right aj?

i dont root for woody against the hawks but do want him to succeed as i think he is a decent fellow unless he truly is pissed a friend has gotten a job that was vacant even if he had sat in the chair. that is truly sad for him. if you were best friends with charlize theron’s boyfriend and they broke up and you were on an island together only with charlize or even say, beyonce, would you still say, no mam?

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Slimjr

NeNe?

They’re playing the Nets!

Wizards are mañana!

I would make Ivan come down here before they get blown out two games in a row. Fire LD!

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My bad Big Lou! Thanks for the correction!

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Marvin should play in the WNBA..He’d be an AllStar in that league for sure….LOL!

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“Marvin should play in the WNBA..He’d be an AllStar in that league for sure….LOL!”

Candice Parker will still find a way to block his sorry azz. Lol

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ok rod let us go back and you said first:

From what I heard, LD backdoored Woody. LD basically went to management and told them that he would be willing to coach the team for much less than what they would have to pay Woodson. Perfect situation for the cost cutting ASG, who refuse to spend money on a coach. That is why he is still the lowest paid head coach in the league.

do you really think that is possible? preposterous, what if they had won the round against the magic then ld is gone. no one even a mouse would undercut as early as you suggest or be able to perdict how bad woody would fail. huge creative friends you have there and irrational as well though they may know the man. i think woody was gone within days.

then you went on to say:

“Woody is only interim. He may have been justified in his actions, because if I remember correctly, Drew was trying to leave, and had another job offer, and Woodson blocked him. I don’t think that they are too fond of each other.”

again that doesnt make sense does it to hold back someone you now are going to dislike, he is going to dislike you. no i fact sekou reported ld would carry on as the professional he was and never was doubted or heard from again in the media except that bk had wanted to can woody shortly after not letting him go to sac to replace woody. hmmmm where does that fit with yu or your friends in the know (ha!) or your fabrication rod? all this went back to the stumbling years with bk?

as in the article, bk was the one who gave permission and to take it away. woody didnt have that power and it seems bk called his own shots, didnt it? yes, in the article as i gave you from sacramento it threw woody’s name in. i cant give the archived one from sekou because it doesnt exist but that was never speculated by sekou that woody had anything to do with it. if he did want him, then fine live with it until the contracts are then done, if that was the peeve. the gig was over and woody and everyone was without a contract years later. do you think they coexisted with animosity that long from the sac job with reggie theuss? so go for it ld and get your own job.

again woody is pretty small if this is truly what has him upset. i would prefer to go with the line that i have suggested and slimj threw out there than to say he demands such loyalty as that to affect the livelihoods of families when he has gotten his millions, which he did; unless he pays too much for his suits and bad eyebrow cuts cost more than i think they do. woody is in pretty good shape right now and i doubt he has bigger fish to fry than ld. no to answer your question, i dont expect them to hug on the sidelines based on what ld said not the supposition of what he did.

and true to form rod, i suspect you will laugh it off, make a snide comment without substance and not answer any of the critical statements that refute your friends conspiracy theory.

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yup, it was all basg, bk dysfunction gdad which seems to pander to this from the break up of their group. just the same, that is small piddling stuff and woody better know where his place is even if he goes all the way with this bunch. even the best stalwart men like donnie walsh couldnt stay out of the way of dolans and isiah when it came to melo. now it is woody’s and he may only be auditioning for a job somewhere else.

yes, interesting to wonder if ld’s boy sticks last year around if he wouldnt be front and center stage and thought that as soon as the pg went down.

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No offense, Grandad. You have your tastes I have mine. Our age differences are probably miles apart as well, just by your name alone. I love all women, but I will not give as much effort to the ‘wrinkled class’ as much as the smooth/shiny.

A man with no options and no choice will go for the vintage.

I like the chase, the challenge, and the feeling of conquering ‘fresh’ score. I’m like the Lion through the tall grass, prowling for a new lioness to add to my pride. She needs to be able to hunt, gather, and satisfy the multiple needs.

Nobody likes used goods. Would you rather have the new iPhone 4s or the old, scratched up Motorola Razor? “Nough said!

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Big Lou likes those unstable women. Rihanna might stab you and slit your throat. Beyonce would just cry and leave you. Don’t die Big Lou. Don’t die.

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So no Zaza tonight. I guess Collins will get the start ( even though Ivan should probably start ).

Nene is good, but he’s not a beast. It’s not like he’s going to go for 20 points – 15 rebounds just because Zaza is out. He’s a decent center, not a great one.

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“Nene is good, but he’s not a beast. It’s not like he’s going to go for 20 points – 15 rebounds just because Zaza is out. He’s a decent center, not a great one.”

Why do people think we are playing the wizards tonight? We play New Jersey!

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big lou, find a real cougar.

gdad i was not asking you to clarify anything, only rod in his assertions by “friends in the know” that doesnt add up with history or facts given. if you go back a reread it he was conjecturing a lot and never answered any direct questions about how the story dosent fit a time line or what really went down through the years. after all dont we have someone on this blog with “friends in the know” from phoenix selling us something like amare or nash coming and in trade discussions? heh heh

my point again is woody could be pissed over the comments find but not a guy getting a job he long lost on his own accord.

i aslo think anything to do with the basg is like being on an island as the hawks fans are. just wish a pretty suitor would come along and rescue us. liberty and the braves is not much better. we are going down this year.

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“big lou, find a ‘real’ cougar.” doc

Good looking and old versus good looking and young.

No thanks. You keep on with your play, more power to you. Somebody has to take one for the team. lol Respect.

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Big Lou

‘`A man with no options and no choice will go for the vintage`’

So saith whom ?

‘`Sometimes a man has endless choices;
only to realize, his first was the most delicate and pleasing`’
*’`G-dad`’*

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doc,

Ok. You are correct sir. Hope that clears your mind. LOL

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Big Lou

March 23rd, 2012
2:07 pm

“Big Lou likes those unstable women.” northcyde

There is nothing wrong with a little crazy–keeps things interesting. Some men like battle wounds after a night with his lady. Don’t knock it until you try it. Also, the point of the conversation was young versus old, not personality.

“Beyonce would just cry and leave you. Don’t die Big Lou. Don’t die.”

Sounds boring. If you are not risking your life somehow, then you’re not living.

*********************

OK man. All I’m saying is that you may end up on the First 48 messing around with those types of females. And not as the suspect . . but as the victim.

First 48 Announcer: “Atlanta . . . 10:16pm . . . A man and a woman is heard arguing in the Techwood Dr. parking garage across from Philips Arena after a Hawks – Knicks game . . . When Atlanta Police arrive at the scene, they find a man in a pool of blood with multiple knife wounds to the head and chest area . . and a stiletto lodged in his eyesocket . . . DEAD”.

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Hey doc,

Cousin Boo-Boo knows all about phoenix to hawks fantasy trades. LOL
____________

The Pink Panther!

You guys are so funny … But, hey – it’s all PINK on the inside. The heart wants what it wants. LOL at all the big talkers.

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“I’ll speak up for Vlad. He played real well at the beginning of the season offensively and defensively. But then he seemed to disappear for many weeks. But he is playing quite well again of late.”

Vlad has played well at small forward. The problem is that LD has played him too often at PF, where he is completely overmatched on D and on the boards. Marvin should be playing backup PF minutes while Vlad exclusively plays SF. Vlad’s ability to stretch the floor helps Joe and Josh by giving them more room to operate.

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“gdad i was not asking you to clarify anything, only rod in his assertions by “friends in the know” that doesnt add up with history or facts given. if you go back a reread it he was conjecturing a lot and never answered any direct questions about how the story dosent fit a time line or what really went down through the years. after all dont we have someone on this blog with “friends in the know” from phoenix selling us something like amare or nash coming and in trade discussions? heh heh”

This is the last I will speak on this. Doc, this is a blog, not an article published in the New York Times. YOu have not posted any facts, you posted an article from a 3rd party. That article does not give you facts about what happened between 2 men. I come on here as well as many other people, who might know players, coaches trainers… and give information and opinions. Some bloggers are believable, some are not. Some are knowlegable, some are not. You have the ability to make a determination to believe who and what you want to believe. If you go back and read all the post, the thing that will stand out is that you are the only person who feels like what I said is so far fetched. I gave you info that I had. If you don’t believe it, and want to get a timeline and know the exact day these thing happened, talk to Woody, or Drew. It’s obvious that something did happen between them, so you can make your own conclusions. I never said LD got Woody fired or any of the other things that you mentioned. Woody was not fired, his contract was up, and he was not resigned. According to you, LD never had a formal interview until after that happened. So I guess you feel like that is the first conversation that LD had with ownership. Let me let you in on a little secret. Formal interviews many times are mere formalities. Believe it or not. Trust me I won’t lose any sleep if you don’t. I can remember 3 or 4 years ago being one of the only bloggers saying that Marvin was a bust, and he was not better than Josh based on my personal experience, and guys I knew in the league who told me he was terrible. Wonder who was right on that opinion. If you don’t believe it, life will go on.

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“Had Woody coached the 2010 – 11 Hawks, we could’ve conceivably won the division last year.”

Wouldn’t have meant much if they got swept by Orlando in Round 1.

Woody got fired because he had no offensive game plan and never made adjustments. Enough with the history rewriting. LD, for all his faults, has done two things Woody never came close to doing: a) solving the Dwight Howard problem and b) winning games in the 2nd round. Give me LD over Woody any day of the week.

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“Beyonce: 30 years old, banging body, Country girl shy

Rihanna: 24 years old, banging body, Caribbean-crazy”

Beyonce: forehead

Rihanna: sixhead

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” And he was imploring Horford to continue to develop his mechanical post game.”

LOL. This would be somewhat believable if, you know, he ran plays for anyone other than Joe or Jamal.

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“The reality is that the ASG had to make a major decision. Re-sign Woody at a higher price than his lat contract, or promote his assistant and pay him a Dollar Store salary. They chose to do the latter.”

I don’t agree with northcyde much lately, but he is correct with this statement. The strange thing about the Atlanta situation is how many
times have you seen a coach be in a city for a couple of years, improve the team every year, get them to the playoffs on a consistent basis, publically clash with one of the star players, have the team quit on him in the playoffs for whatever reason, ownership say it’s time we go in a new direction, and then hire his lead assistant? Even if it was about money, why hire the assistant, Why not have a clean slate? Management stated that it was Drew’s relationship with the players. That should tell you all you need to know. Don’t think it was any backdooring huh? LOL

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“You guys are so funny … But, hey – it’s all ‘PINK’ on the inside. The heart wants what it wants. LOL at all the big talkers.” drmaryb

Lol. You nasty.

northcyde

You got a good sense of humor, man. Now I see why you’re a Marvin fan.

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Sautee

Throwin` this name at you !

Andrew Nicholson – St Bonnie … *’`(more to come)`’*

Will be available at18 through 22
-or-
wherever we draft ?

Been watchin` film and I am High on this kid.

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I’m a Marvin defender, not necessarily a fan. I just understand ( just like I understood with Woody ), that the vast majority of criticism that he receives is unfair. The dude gets criticized even when he plays well. I’ll defend him when he plays well. Not hate on him just to be hating on him, like 85% of the fan base does.

People actually think that Vlad is better than Marvin. In what season? Not this season.

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“just on the offensive end. The end that Drew was supposed to help us the most.”

That #2 offensive ranking under Woody in ‘09-’10 was a mirage and Orlando exposed them. That team wasn’t a great offensive team because they had great players or got great shots every possession. They were a great offensive team because they sent everybody to crash the boards and rack up offensive rebounds.

In other words, Woody’s philosophy was if we can’t be good, at least let’s give ourselves more chances than the other team.

The problem with this is that the Hawks were severely undersized. If your offensive success is based around offensive rebounding, and you go up against a bigger team that is really good at defensive rebounding, you are screwed. This is what happened against Orlando.

Knowing what we know now, maybe the Hawks could have been competitive in the 2nd round if Woody had gone with a big lineup against Orlando (start Zaza or Collins) and continued to send his front court to the offensive boards. But that would require making an adjustment, which Woody was completely incapable of doing.

Instead of the smoke and mirrors approach, maybe Woody could have, you know, designed plays. Maybe he could have called for more post ups (Josh was a really good passer out of the low post even back then). Maybe he could have played the young first-round point guard who, even then, was the only player on the team who could break down a defense off the dribble. With all those players going for the offensive board, even if Teague missed most of his floaters and layups, there would have been plenty of players near the rim for the put back.

I was at Game 3 and Game 4 of that 2nd round series, and I saw a team that knew it was going to lose from the tip. And the reason for this was because Woody had no answer for anything the Magic did. When your coach is so thoroughly outcoached for an entire series (and this wasn’t the first one — that Bucks first round series only went 7 rounds because Woody was outcoached by Skiles) it is time to make a change.

Just because LD was the wrong choice as a replacement doesn’t mean Woody was the right choice to keep around.

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“People actually think that Vlad is better than Marvin. In what season? Not this season.”

Vlad does not trip over his own feet, fall every other play, and get blocked by samller defenders, the bottom of the rim, or the backboard everytime he drives. Besides that, Marvin might be better.

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It was a joke, northcyde. Lighten up. You have to admit that you chuckle when he tumbles and gets blocked.

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northcyde

09 /10;
With Jamal 6th man of the yr; a hlthy Al,
a hlthy Joe, hlthy Josh, a younger Bibby,
Zaza, Mo, Teaguer, & Marv

-compared to-

11 / 12;
Al out for season; Joe missed a boatload of games & still hobbled;
T-Mac = rickety?; Josh has nutted up when Joe don`t play;
Marv surgery = cured physically but did not have a talent transplant;
Zaza has been remarkable (still he`s Zaza); Kirk inj early [month];
Teaguer inconsistent, but at least we know he ain`t no pg;
Did I mention Al out for season ?;
others inj; V-Rad; Willie Green; Pargo; Collins; Ivan missed time;
T-mac again & again; Marv !

Now seriously;
under these conditions do you really wish to compare ?

That`s an unfair comparison;
not to mention the compressed season after the lock-out
with no [zero] training camp.

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As bad as Marvin is, Jason Collins makes Marvin look like an all-star. Marvin can give you some points and maybe a few rebounds. Collins can’t give neither.

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rod that was before the three amigos, tt to bulls and rose coming of age, amare to knicks collins to sixers celts over knee to garnett, resurgence in indiana. wow incrrdible to say it was tougher as we were better than celts even that year with only the queen cavs and magic in our path to the finals. that was a missed op and in no way was the east tougher then or did i misread? wow.

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Shoot if Marvin had me checking him in his try out session with the Hawks, Billy Knight would not ever drafted that cheer leading azz. I would have sent his layup attempt with my left hand back to my hometown da Bronx! LOL!

Legend has it, he never missed a shot in his 1st tryout.. Right…………

If BILLY KNIGHT blocked Larry Drew from moving on then that scenario adds to the his legendary status as one of the most arrogant minds in the NBA at that time.

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doc,

Top 4 seeds 2008
Boston (World Champs)
Detroit (Former World Champs)
Orlando
Cleveland

Top 4 2011
Chicago
Miami
Boston (Old World Champs)
Orlando

I’ll stick with my belief that the east was tougher then. LOL

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Rod,

Did the Hawks win 53 games in 2008? If not, I don’t think that’s the year doc was referring to when he said the east was weaker than.

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Dream Girls!

“your choice.” -nortycyde-
_________

Ugggh … Beyonce IS married and, IS a Mom. Move on fellas … No choice available here. (see Jay-Zee)

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Paula Abdul!

“Shoot if Marvin had me checking him in his try out session with the Hawks, Billy Knight would not ever drafted that cheer leading azz. I would have sent his layup attempt with my left hand back to my hometown da Bronx! LOL!” -slimjr-
__________

Uggh … I believe they put a chair under the basket so, Marvin was defended by a four legged hinderance. He excelled! Wow! What a work out he had from the 8 stooges and The Black Knight!

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“When Cleveland and Boston were on top of the division they both won 66 games. Chicago led the division last year with 62 wins”

This doesn’t necessarily prove that the East was stronger then. In fact if anything it might prove the opposite, since it’s quite likely that Cleveland and Boston’s win totals were inflated by being able to beat up on a weak conference.

I don’t think comparing win totals is going to tell you much one way or the other. The better way to look at it is to compare the 1 seed in that year to the 1 seed this year, 2 seed then to 2 seed now, 3 seed then to 3 seed now, etc. and see which year has the better teams that way. Obviously this is going to be a little subjective, but I don’t think there’s a much better way of looking at it.

In the ‘09-’10 season, when the Hawks’ win total peaked, the 5-8 seeds in the East were the one-man Heat, the Bucks who took that year’s Hawks to 7 games in the first round, the Bobcats who got swept by Orlando, and the Bulls pre-Thibodeau. I am pretty sure the Hawks — currently the 6 seed in the East — would beat all those teams in a 7 game series. If Woody didn’t take two weeks to adjust his switching defense, it wouldn’t have taken him 7 games to beat those Bucks in the first place.

The top 4 teams that year were Cleveland with LeBron, Orlando with Dwight, the Hawks, and the Celtics who eventually won the conference. Again, I’m pretty sure the current Heat would beat any of those 4 teams in a series, and the current Bulls probably could as well since Thibodeau’s defensive scheme is ideal for beating teams that overly rely on one scoring option like that year’s Cavs and Magic. In fact, Thibodeau’s defense in Boston did beat the Cavs and Magic in consecutive series in that year’s playoffs.

At least in my opinion, this year’s 6 seed is better than that year’s 5-8 seeds, and this year’s 1 and 2 seeds are better than each of that year’s top 4 teams. Subjective, yeah, but I’d say the current East is tougher than the ‘09-’10 East.

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